Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron; the whole congregation said to them, ‘Would that we had died in the land of Egypt!’ (Num. 14:1-2) This past year I attended a Christmas Eve service at the church I …
Tag: Grace
What Jesus Knew
Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. (Jn. 8:6) The woman caught in adultery stands in the midst of the crowd ashamed of her actions and afraid for her life. The Pharisees are feverishly using that woman to set up Jesus. Many of the townspeople are gathered around with great curiosity, some …
Jesus, Our Good Shepherd, Finds You
Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd.” (Jn. 10:11) It was my first sermon. I was doing an internship after my first year in seminary, and one of our duties that summer was to lead a service at an assisted living home. When it was my turn, I choose to talk about Jesus the Good …
Forgiving Someone From Our Heart
So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart. (Mt. 18:35) The man was a respected leader in town. The man also had a secret life. During business trips he indulged in risky behavior. In time, he contracted a …
Our Time in Midian
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. (Ex. 3:1) For the first 40 years of his life Moses had been trained to be a commander of armies. For his next 40 years Moses …
Answering God’s Call
During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ (Acts. 16:9) Paul dreamed about the “man of Macedonia pleading” with him while he was in Asia Minor. Although the distance between Asia Minor and Macedonia was only a few …
Let the Little Children Come to Me
People were bringing little children to [Jesus] in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me…' (Mk. 10:13-14) David, a seminary classmate, and I were at a folk mass. As we …
…and a Little Child Shall Lead Them
“The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.” (Is. 11:6) Let me call him Fred. He didn’t like the changes I was making at church. He made an appointment to express his …
A Kingdom of God Moment
Jesus said, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.' (Mk. 1:15) At the end of each session at the jail I always ask the inmates what subject they would like to talk about for the coming week. On one occasion they decided to …
Room For All
He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.’ (Lk. 4:17-18) One of church’s receptionists buzzed to tell me that she had a woman on the phone that demanded to talk with …